30-Day (Was COVID) Practice Plan Challenge - April 1-30 2020

[woodzie264]

Day 10: the COVID two-step
 

sooo, super awkward. After all this time working on a centered turn, making myself take these steps was hard...the forward step very hard. My step is tiny. I think this drill has a lot of potential for me in generating power with the “flow,” it’s just gonna take practice as I’m super “stiff” or rigid. In my turn. Great drill though. This is one  I’d definitely do on my own at the range. 
 

 

[klineka]

No video today but these felt smooth and natural, reminded me of the step through swings that I do as part of the Superspeed program.

I hadn't really thought of a trigger before, still not entire comfortable with one, I'm leaning towards a slight forward press though, doing something with my hands as a trigger feels way more natural than any body movements.

[JGus]

Day 10 completed, at least as much as I can do inside, I can't hit a ball inside so will have to wait until the next time I get to the range.

Day 9 & 10 drills have uncovered the possible issue of me having such a hard time transitioning.  I have noticed something that @iacas mentioned in the video about the weight actually moving to my front foot during the backswing.  When doing some mirror work, it's not as obvious as done in the video, but I definitely feel the weight staying forward, which makes it really hard to bump/slide/turn on the downswing.

I'm going to keep working on day 9 & 10 until I can get outside, I don't think I can find that right trigger until I'm actually hitting balls, but feeling like my core is moving slightly back in the initial part of the backswing does make the 'flow' a lot easier compared to my swing feeling tight and all mechanical.

Excited to get outside with these drills.

[Bonvivant]

21 minutes ago, billchao said:

Hey man, I noticed you haven't posted a video in a while. Still keeping up with these drills?

I have not been keeping up. Been a really rough week for me. Hopefully I can catch up this weekend (I know it's meant to be daily, but I still want to get it done). Thanks for the concern though. Is there an alternative to alignment sticks? I don't have those or even the driveway markers that can be had for cheap.

[boogielicious]

17 minutes ago, woodzie264 said:

Day 10: the COVID two-step
 

sooo, super awkward. After all this time working on a centered turn, making myself take these steps was hard...the forward step very hard. My step is tiny. I think this drill has a lot of potential for me in generating power with the “flow,” it’s just gonna take practice as I’m super “stiff” or rigid. In my turn. Great drill though. This is one  I’d definitely do on my own at the range. 
 

 

Perfect hat for this drill!

2 minutes ago, Bonvivant said:

I have not been keeping up. Been a really rough week for me. Hopefully I can catch up this weekend (I know it's meant to be daily, but I still want to get it done). Thanks for the concern though. Is there an alternative to alignment sticks? I don't have those or even the driveway markers that can be had for cheap.

Just turn your driver around and grip the head end. It should waggle the same as a driveway marker.

[mvmac]

Anyone who follows my swing thread knows I've been implementing these kind of drills into my practice and really like them. Love the feel and response it gives me up my trail side.

The right foot step one was a little tough because I've become accustomed to stepping the left foot forward when I step the right one back.

For the two-step drill, one thing I've found for me is that it's more of a "shuffle" forward than a step. I can tend to get the left foot too much in the air and then the downswing sequencing can be late.

 

5 hours ago, Nail said:

For the past year or so I’ve been trying to stop my hips swaying back on the backswing by doing the wall drill recommended by Erik. My right heel would lift off the ground and I would get all my weight on my trail leg. 

Heel lifting isn't necessarily a bad thing, obviously a lot of the old school guys raised the heel off the ground. Some current players on tour allow it to raise and even though most may look grounded, the vast majority are "unweighting" the heel, basically the heel gets really light to the ground. What's important is keeping the "sway and rotation" inside the lines.

5 hours ago, Nail said:

For whatever reason this drill seems to make me sway back again(maybe it’s supposed to) I don’t feel comfortable with it at all. I see my right foot lifting again etc. 

Like @iacas said, not every drill is going to be perfect for everyone but also realize you're stepping back so yes there will be more movement back than you would normally feel. Going to feel more "reckless". Which is the point of the drill to create some flow right to encourage and firm step forward, like the wave analogy. 

Good view of Rory having some movement to the trail side early and then re-centers during the backswing. Very athletic/dynamic move.

 

2 hours ago, iacas said:

Daniel, you're stepping back too late. You have to step back much earlier, as this is almost where you should be flowing forward:

Yeah @DeadMan, Erik demonstrates this well, look at when he's stepping back.

[boogielicious]

Man @mvmac has a golfer’s tan! 

[mvmac]

6 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

Man @mvmac has a golfer’s tan! 

lol yep

[billchao]

25 minutes ago, Bonvivant said:

I have not been keeping up. Been a really rough week for me.

Sorry man, hope you're doing ok.

26 minutes ago, Bonvivant said:

Is there an alternative to alignment sticks? I don't have those or even the driveway markers that can be had for cheap.

They're usually only a few dollars at Home Depot.

If you can't find them or don't want to go out and get them, you can use some clubs flipped around for the Day 8 putting drill. A few people did that. Maybe just do the Day 9 drills with an iron backwards for the first part and regular for the second.

30 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

Just turn your driver around and grip the head end. It should waggle the same as a driveway marker.

After seeing what @woodzie264 did to his 6i, I'm not going to recommend anyone do the Day 9 drill with their driver in any orientation 

26 minutes ago, mvmac said:

Anyone who follows my swing thread knows I've been implementing these kind of drills into my practice and really like them. Love the feel and response it gives me up my trail side.

The right foot step one was a little tough because I've become accustomed to stepping the left foot forward when I step the right one back.

For the two-step drill, one thing I've found for me is that it's more of a "shuffle" forward than a step. I can tend to get the left foot too much in the air and then the downswing sequencing can be late.

 

High ceiling so you can make full swings indoors? I need to get myself one of those.

[iacas]

58 minutes ago, woodzie264 said:

sooo, super awkward. After all this time working on a centered turn, making myself take these steps was hard...the forward step very hard. My step is tiny. I think this drill has a lot of potential for me in generating power with the “flow,” it’s just gonna take practice as I’m super “stiff” or rigid. In my turn. Great drill though. This is one  I’d definitely do on my own at the range. 

Your step forward is really late. Too late. Step forward as your arms get to A3.

You can see I'm already stepping forward here.

53 minutes ago, JGus said:

I'm going to keep working on day 9 & 10 until I can get outside, I don't think I can find that right trigger until I'm actually hitting balls, but feeling like my core is moving slightly back in the initial part of the backswing does make the 'flow' a lot easier compared to my swing feeling tight and all mechanical.

Yeah, I agree. It can be tough without a ball.

40 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

Perfect hat for this drill!

Just turn your driver around and grip the head end. It should waggle the same as a driveway marker.

Yeah, or really… go to Home Depot like Bill suggests. They're like $2 or $3, and every golfer should have two or four or more. They're alignment sticks, etc. Lotta drills use them, and they're great on the range, etc.

8 minutes ago, billchao said:

Sorry man, hope you're doing ok.

They're usually only a few dollars at Home Depot.

Ditto to both, but particularly the first bit.

8 minutes ago, billchao said:

After seeing what @woodzie264 did to his 6i, I'm not going to recommend anyone do the Day 9 drill with their driver in any orientation 

Right, I wouldn't advise that.

[Bonvivant]

28 minutes ago, billchao said:

Sorry man, hope you're doing ok.

They're usually only a few dollars at Home Depot.

If you can't find them or don't want to go out and get them, you can use some clubs flipped around for the Day 8 putting drill. A few people did that. Maybe just do the Day 9 drills with an iron backwards for the first part and regular for the second.

After seeing what @woodzie264 did to his 6i, I'm not going to recommend anyone do the Day 9 drill with their driver in any orientation 

Thanks for the advice. Really hope to get back on it this weekend. @iacas, thanks as well.

[Shindig]

3 hours ago, billchao said:

Hey man, I noticed you haven't posted a video in a while. Still keeping up with these drills?

Your grip is very palmy. The shaft is almost in line with your right forearm at address. I'm assuming it's weak, too, if the face is wide open with a flat left wrist. You should get a FO view of your grip and see what that looks like.

I think you should revisit this thread:

 

Thanks for the observation.  Believe it or not, that thread is where I went when I got the instructions to revisit my grip.  I think it's clear I'm not doing it right this iteration either.  I took video a moment ago of me taking my grip, although I moved around (in ways I don't when I take my grip when swinging) in hopes that the camera can pick up more angles of what I'm doing.  

If someone can point out what I'm doing wrong, I'd greatly appreciate it.  

 

[SteveH]

I struggled with the step forward part of this more than anything else

 

[No Mulligans]

Day 3 - I don't think my left elbow in the backswing is one of my problems.  So, it didn't seem I needed to make any adjustments on this one.

 

[Sammydreep]

Only paper balls unfortunately. 
 

Also, not windy but I’ve got it covered,

My ‘tripod’

 

Edited April 11, 2020 by Sammydreep

[metaswinger]

Day 10

Net arrived last night (!!!) and foot mat will come on Monday.  Going to spend the weekend going over the drills.  Lucky to be super busy with regular work.

 

 

[Darkfrog]

Day 10

Hated this drill at first. Felt super clumsy during parts 1 and 2 and was making terrible contact while practically tripping every swing. Took a break and saw @mvmac advice to make the step forward more like a shuffle and this improved the results.

Stopping excess lead hip movement away from the target is something I’ve been focusing on since my last lesson, so I thought this might encourage a return to bad habits. But when I did part 3 with a trigger (slight forward press of the hands and a little knee flex), I was striking the ball really crisply. I think had been focusing too much on keeping my lead hip from moving away from the target that I lost some of the athleticism in the golf swing. I still need to make sure I don’t overdo it, but this drill helped build some confidence and made my swing feel more dynamic and athletic.

 

[Nail]

12 hours ago, iacas said:

Can you not just put the camera face on but hit in the same direction?

Here it is, still feels weird but getting used to the fact it’s a drill and not a proper full swing, I felt like I lost control so was worried. 

 

How important is finding a trigger btw, do all pro’s have one? I’m struggling to find one.